Eyebrow Waxing, Design and Tattoo: Eyebrows through the Decades

Eyebrows have gone through as many changes as hairdos over the years. From thin and dramatic to lush and well-shaped, eyebrow trends have helped define facial fashion. Whether an individual is simply looking for precise, fine eyebrow waxing to make sure the brows are neat, manicured, and trimmed or a full-blown Orlando brow treatment that can include microblading to make sparse eyebrows suddenly become lush and full, there’s a lot that can be done to improve eyebrows these days.

From thin to natural: Early 20th Century brows

The eyebrows seen on fashionable women during the first part of the last century were thin and highly arched. No effort was made for brows to look natural. A thin, penciled, dramatic arch donned the faces of celebrities and fashionable women. Unlike a full, natural-looking, Orlando brow technique, brows deliberately looked penciled in.

As the years moved toward the war years and midpoint of the century, screen goddesses began displaying fuller, more natural-looking eyebrows. Unlike the precise perfection achieved by eyebrow waxing today, women were likely to use a pair of tweezers to tidy up their brow-line. Between the 40s and the 50s, natural-shaped brows began to morph into a slightly more arched look.

Post-war to present: The ever-changing brow

Much about the 1960s was dramatic and over the top, but eyebrows weren’t. The look was short and understated, and well hidden beneath the bright colors and flamboyant styles of the period. The short, low-key, and understated eyebrow fashion made the heavy eye makeup of the time seem bold and glamorous.

The 70s brought on the disco years when the aim was to capture attention if only for a night of fun on the dance floor. Women wore highly waxed and arched eyebrows which set off their faces dramatically beneath the revolving strobe lights. It was a time when even average people could be transformed into a Night Life Superstar.

By the time the 1980s rolled around, no one wanted understated eyebrows. Thick, lush, dark brows were in demand. The look was thick and natural. This was in stark contrast to the thin, plucked, skinny eyebrows that adorned the most fashionable faces of the 1990s.

The 2000s have been a free and exciting period for eyebrows with an anything-goes beauty atmosphere. Brows can be bleached, feather-like, shaped like barbed wire, lightning bolts, or any other amazing style. Women are adorning their eyebrows with accessories, brushing them and flaunting power brows, and the spotlight is on eyebrows more than ever before.